Ontario Traffic Defense
Charged with holding or using a phone or other device while driving? Ontario treats this as one of the more serious everyday offenses: three demerit points, a fine starting at $615, and a three day license suspension on a first conviction. Have the ticket reviewed before you decide anything.
Section 78.1 of the Highway Traffic Act makes it an offense to drive while holding or using a handheld wireless communication or entertainment device, or while a display screen is visible to the driver.
Holding is enough. You do not have to be texting, calling or even looking at the phone: a phone in your hand at a red light, resting on your lap, or being moved from the seat to the dash can all be charged. Hands free use through Bluetooth or a secure mount is permitted, as is a single touch to activate or deactivate a mounted device, but anything more is not.
Many drivers assume this is a minor ticket and pay it. It is not minor. The penalties below apply to a first conviction, and they escalate sharply on a second and third.
| Conviction | Fine | Demerit points | License suspension |
|---|---|---|---|
| First | $615 to $1,000 | 3 points | 3 days |
| Second (within 5 years) | $615 to $2,000 | 6 points | 7 days |
| Third or more (within 5 years) | $615 to $3,000 | 6 points | 30 days |
Figures above are general guidance, not a quote for your matter. Set fines, victim surcharges and court costs vary, and the amounts change over time. If the driving also endangered others, the charge may be laid as careless driving instead, with heavier penalties.
Because the offense is about holding, not about what you were doing, the officer's observation is the whole case, and that is exactly what a defense examines.
In most matters you will not need to attend court yourself. Filing, disclosure, the prosecutor and the hearing are handled for you. No outcome is ever promised; every case turns on its own facts.
Yes. The charge rests almost entirely on what the officer says they saw, and that can be tested: their vantage point, the duration of the observation, and whether what you were holding and doing actually falls within the Act. With representation it may be possible to reduce or avoid the penalties, though no result can be guaranteed, because it depends on the facts and the evidence.
Yes. The offense applies whenever you are driving, and Ontario courts have held that includes being stopped in traffic or at a light with the engine running. The only safe place to handle a phone is lawfully parked off the roadway.
It usually does. Insurers treat a distracted driving conviction as a serious moving violation, and many apply a significant increase at renewal for three years. For some drivers it is the conviction that moves them out of a clean record rate, and a second conviction can lead to non renewal. Avoiding the conviction, or reducing the charge, is the way to protect your rate.
Don't pay it yet
The window to respond is short, and a conviction follows you for three years. A free 15 minute review tells you exactly where you stand.
